Libraries historically have achieved distinction through special collections of
rare books, and rich manuscript holdings. Today our worth is measured as well
by the innovation and excellence of the services we provide. At the University
of Louisville Libraries we take pride in all these attributes. Although the
history of our university dates to the late eighteenth century and many of our
books and papers precede that date by hundreds of years, we offer twenty-first
century services on a global scale.

An historian in Germany, a doctoral candidate in India, an author in the United
Kingdom, a graduate student in Italy, and an editor in Turkey are among recent
researchers finding information in the University of Louisville's special
collections and archives, yet none of them set foot in our city. Each day we
greet traditional researchers who come to Louisville, put on white cotton
gloves, and take up pencils to use our unique collections. At the same time our
librarians and archivists are scanning, faxing and electronically transmitting
images of these same primary source materials around the world.

These pages highlight some of our special collections and primary sources.
Researchers will find a good variety here, but they will also find many more
resources on our world wide web pages and indexes, and through conversations,
in person or electronically, with our librarians and archivists. We welcome
you, and invite you to join us in expanding the universe of knowledge, and the
love of learning.